Saturday,
March 19
Woke up this morning wondering about salt, most
specifically the method of mass producing enough for everyday consumption. Of
course, that was brought about because we were out walking on a salt path
yesterday and the salt along the path was a mix of brown and white….not the color
of the salt we see in the grocery store.
So I looked at the picture I took yesterday of
the information panel at Badwater Basin salt flats…this is what it says: The
vast, surreal salt flats of Badwater Basin change constantly. Salt crystals expand, pushing the crust of
salt into rough, chaotic forms. Newly
formed crystals ooze between mud cracks, sketching strange patterns on the
surface of the salt flat. Passing
rainstorms wash off windblown dust and generate a fresh layer of blinding white
salt. Floods create temporary lakes that
dissolves salts back into solution, starting the process all over again.
So that answered the question ‘What’s
with the brown color in the salt flats?’…apparently it was mud.
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Then I googled ‘how is salt
made commercially?’ Found a site called foodreference.about.com and it told me
this: Salt production is one of the oldest chemical practices performed by
man. Salt is produced naturally when sea water evaporates, but the process can
easily be reproduced to create a higher yield. Although some salt is still
produced using ancient methods, new, faster, and less expensive methods have
been developed. Depending on the source of the salt and the method used to
create it, the end product will have differing flavors and textures. Today there are two main methods for
obtaining salt, evaporation from sea water and mining salt
from the earth. Most common table salts and salts used for industrial purposes
are obtained through mining, while specialty or gourmet salts are still produced via
evaporation of sea water.
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Seven hours in the sun yesterday and no
sunburn!! Yay! for Neutrogena
sunscreen! Of course, the key is
remembering to put it on.
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From Pahrump, NV, to Needles, CA, where we are camping the next 4 days, has several routes. I choose the ‘road less traveled’…Highway 372 out of Pahrump which wandered south to Baker, CA…from there we would take a ‘shortcut’ over to US 40. Along the route we saw groupings of trailers, cars, tables, chairs, etc., being set up. When we came to an intersection and a sheriff deputy was setting up a pavilion tent, curiosity had me rolling down the window to ask him what was happening. We heard him say something about a law enforcement race and that the first teams had started from Baker, CA, at 8 a.m. and that more teams started every hour, on the hour. Also that the first wave of teams were about 10 miles out from that point. So we had the basics, but couldn’t imagine how this would work on a two lane road out in the desert. True to what the deputy said, we encountered the first bunch of teams down the road a bit. From what we could see, a team consisted of a runner holding a baton, followed by a personal support vehicle, which had the team name on it. Eventually we figured out that it was a relay race and that the extra passengers in the vehicles must be additional team members. The runner/vehicle combinations kept coming and coming; there were staging areas along the way with roadside support and spectators. We knew this had to be something really big and at some point, Kim said “Yeah, and you thought we were taking the road less traveled.” Teams were from all branches of law enforcement and some were even from Canada. This was definitely a job for Google when we got to the campground.
My Google search revealed that we had witnessed the beginning stages of the Baker to Vegas Run (explains the 'B2V' we saw on some vehicles). The bakervegas.net site said it best….”120 miles of pavement, 20 stages, over 8,000 runners, guests, family members, and support staff. Hot days and cold nights. Blood. Sweat. Pride. Honor…..That’s what the world’s most prestigious and unique law enforcement foot race is all about. Starting in Baker, California and ending in Las Vegas, Nevada, law enforcement officers from around the globe battle it out every spring for the chance of winning the coveted cup trophy.” And to think, it was happening on the very weekend we were traveling through that area!. We found the whole thing very interesting and it didn't slow us down much because we go slower than most anyway.
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As the road was coming down a hill, about 15 miles out of Baker, CA (pop. 735), I told Kim, “Hey, I see water! There’s a lake out there.” He thought maybe it was heat waves. But I can see reflections of a building.” Well, I guess we’ll see when we get there, won’t we?” I was skeptical that there could be that much heat reflection to produce a big lake AND reflect the harbor building. Believe me…I was watching for that lake to appear in reality but ultimately had to admit that my observation was wrong as the town of Baker appeared before us with no lake by it. One of many things I love about Kim is that he doesn’t try to convince me of the silliness of some of my observations….he let’s me discover that all on my own.
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As the road was coming down a hill, about 15 miles out of Baker, CA (pop. 735), I told Kim, “Hey, I see water! There’s a lake out there.” He thought maybe it was heat waves. But I can see reflections of a building.” Well, I guess we’ll see when we get there, won’t we?” I was skeptical that there could be that much heat reflection to produce a big lake AND reflect the harbor building. Believe me…I was watching for that lake to appear in reality but ultimately had to admit that my observation was wrong as the town of Baker appeared before us with no lake by it. One of many things I love about Kim is that he doesn’t try to convince me of the silliness of some of my observations….he let’s me discover that all on my own.
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On the shortcut road from Baker, CA over to US 40, we passed a sign. I said “Oh, I think I need a picture of that sign….”, so Kim turned the rig around to oblige me. Later, we passed several red flowered cacti, but couldn’t stop soon enough to get pictures. Kim was not about to turn around again, so he slowed down so he could easily stop if we saw another splash of the color. After a couple of miles, a jeep went flying past us. Cracked me up when Kim yelled “Better be watching for tortoises, asshole!”
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A benefit of taking the road less traveled: if you can see down the road for miles in
either direction and don’t see any traffic coming, you can feel confident that
no one is going to see you if you need to pee alongside the road. Just sayin’….
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On a stop to take pictures of Joshua trees, I
realized that there’s lots of flower color happening in this drab landscape.
Just can’t see it from the window of a vehicle going 55 mph because most of
the flowers are smallish, close to the ground and not so eye popping
vibrant. Need to get out of the car to
see and appreciate it.
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Gas in Needles is $3.54 a gallon! We gassed up when we got to town because we needed to. Then tonight we went in search of a grocery
store for camping supplies. Needles
doesn’t have a Target, Kmart or anything big like that, but Fort Mojave does...it's about
15 miles away. On our way there, we crossed over the Colorado River into Arizona. So maybe 10-15 miles from Needles we see gas
from $1.72 to $2.04. If I lived in
Needles, I would cross the river to buy my gas.
Just that plain and simple….
GREAT !!
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